DANBURY, Connecticut – November 21, 2016 – The Danbury Hospital Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center has implemented the CardioMEMS™ Heart Failure Monitoring System – the first and only FDA-approved heart failure monitor proven to significantly reduce the rate of hospital readmissions while improving the quality of life in patients with advanced heart failure.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure, which occurs when the weakened heart muscle doesn’t pump enough blood to support the body’s needs. Heart failure is a chronic disease that requires constant vigilance by patients and their doctors, and it’s one of the most common reasons why patients age 65 and older are admitted or readmitted to the hospital. Nationwide, an estimated $30.7 billion is spent annually on health care services and hospital readmissions for patients with heart failure.
Benefits of the CardioMEMS™ Heart Failure System
“Studies show that following daily trends in the pulmonary artery pressure is a good indicator of worsening heart failure,” said Western Connecticut Medical Group cardiologist Dr. Ira Galin. “The CardioMEMS™ technology provides us with the ability to improve the health outcomes of patients with advanced heart failure by taking action to initiate changes in the patient’s medical therapy before symptoms begin to escalate.”
How it Works
The CardioMEMS™ Heart Failure System is a battery-free system with three components – a small, wireless implantable sensor, a hospital electronics monitoring system and a patient electronics delivery system. The sensor, which is about the size of a dime, is implanted within the patient’s distal pulmonary artery via a minimally invasive right-heart catheterization procedure.

“At home or other remote location, the patient uses a small pillow that acts as an antenna to transmit heart rate and pulmonary artery pressure data to a safe and secure online portal where the patient’s cardiologist monitors the readings,” explains Dr. Sumit Tickoo, an interventional cardiologist with the Western Connecticut Medical Group.

Patient Eligibility
“To be considered a candidate for the CardioMEMS™ Heart Failure Monitoring System," patients must have had an inpatient admission for heart failure in the last 12 months,” said Dr. Galin. “The patient must also be able to take aspirin for life and Plavix, an antiplatelet medication used to prevent blood clots, for 30 days post-implementation.”